National News

SURVEY: Schools should teach creativity, goal-setting

A majority of Americans said U.S. schools should teach soft skills, including how to collaborate and how to set meaningful goals, a poll indicates.

More than three in four adults said they strongly agree that K-12 schools should teach critical thinking and communication, and 64 percent agreed that goal setting should be taught.

Sixty-one percent said schools should know how to motivate students, and a majority of respondents also strongly agree creativity and collaboration should be taught, the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll indicates.

Parents did not see their child's school as making an overwhelming difference in promoting their child's well-being.

Only a third of parents said they strongly agree that their child has a better well-being because of the school he or she attends, Gallup said, and only 15 percent agree their child's school is involved with teaching how to manage finances.

The poll was conducted via telephone between May 7 and May 31, with 1,001 respondents. The margin of error is 3.8 percentage points, Gallup said.